i LOVED that feature

It is easy to take the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge for granted, especially if you live on staten island, but it is really an astounding feat of engineering.  It carries 12 (yes, 12!) lanes of traffic across the Narrows and is 8/10ths of a mile long at its widest span.  Its towers are 1 5/8th in. farther apart at the top than at the bottom -- because of the curvature of the earth.

When I was a child, in the little park at the foot of the brooklyn side, there was a model of the 36" diam. steel cables that hold the bridge up.  I was happy to find that it was still there, when i visited the park a year ago, although the explanatory plaque had either been removed or painted over, and the whole thing had been painted over so many times as to resemble nothing more than an odd chunk of misshapen metal.

ingredients:

approx. 1 lb. vegetarian-fed ground beef
sesame seed buns
pickle chips, at room temperature
yellow mustard, eg. french's, at room temperature
heinz ketchup at room temperature
diced onions
full-fat american cheese

Prep a skillet with cooking spray and warm on medium heat.  Divide the meat into 4-6 patties and press into pan.  Sear the meat, for a few mins on each side.  Cook just until juices run clear.  Place cheese atop patties and melt.   Simultaneously, lightly toast buns in a toaster oven.  When buns are warm and cheese is melted, assemble as follows:

Place bottom bun on plate.  Add burger.  Squirt equal proportions of ketchup and mustard on.  Place exactly two pickle slices in the condiments.  Sprinkle approx. 1 tsp of onion over that.  Top with top bun.

Serve with BEER.

And lattice fries.

but i am sad :(

because i know it is just a crush

and even so, i keep acting like an idiot around him

and i'm the worst at flirting

and maybe . . . maybe i just want to make out with him

and maybe i just miss being a girlfriend

i know, i'm the only person in the universe who is actually excited about this

i mean ok, the 80s being back, so are Guess and Esprit and -- dare i say it -- people are actually wanting to buy clothes in department stores again --

but the flip side of this is junk food fashion.  like joyce leslie.  doesn't it belong in some half-decayed downtown shopping district in nyc?  junky clothing of all kinds, hung all the way up the wall on every available surface, three times as many clothes racks on the floor as space would reasonably dictate, an entire wall of shoes from which one could select a pair of flats in every color of the rainbow. tees screenprinted with garish designs, in metallic gold and silver.  piles of sheer rayon that make you want to shout "Don't strike a match!" 

and all lit, somehow, by dimly flickering fluorescent fixtures

i dunno, i've always been much more impressed by someone's goofy $5 find in a random junky store somewhere than by whatever some kid paid for his Z. Cavariccis.

i've been using (actual) baking soda and peroxide (not some toothpaste that contains them along with a bunch of other junk) more often than not, and my last dental cleaning went great.  my gums were in good shape and i wasn't bleeding all over the place. 

i still fucking hate the ultrasonic cleaning thingie though. not only is it absolute torture, i'm convinced that it's a bad idea to get teeth THAT clean. it's sort of like when the otolaryngologist used to vacuum out my ears.  it was cool that there was a technology available to do this -- but it was a service that no one should really need on any kind of regular basis.

discman:  skippy, and  becoming more so with age.  does not like to play linty, fingerprinty old cd's in the car. (i do my best to keep them clean, but discman still isn't satisfied)

cd walkman:  okay, it's possible that it's only my imagination, but it seems to me like the percussion doesn't have as much snap or oomph to it as with the discman.  in any case i've had to reset all the levels in my car to accomodate it.  it is definitely less tempermental about what tracks it wants to play than my old friend discman, and this is a big plus.  cd walkman also has a radio tuner in it, which is kind of neat, since i can therefore theoretically use it to get audio on the tv's at the gym.  unfortunately it is too freaking huge to fit in the, you know, pockets for personal items that workout machines have.

final outcome:  discman stays at home with my (elderly, equally temperamental) stereo, where at least it doesn't get jostled.  cd walkman rides shotgun with me.  everybody's happy.

Free money to taxpayers to stimulate consumer spending?

Fascist.

Brassieres that only come in the nude, padded, push-up variety, regardless of what size breasts they are meant to contain?

Ditto.

1. when i plugged my guitar in and struck a chord, sound came out of the amp.  this was an important consideration.
2. they do not sound as nice as ernie ball nickel-wound strings. they actually sound a little bit muddy, but if super-bright was what i wanted, i'd have gone for steel-wound steel.  if i decide to become a heavy metal rock goddess in the future, i can always try some of those.
3. thankfully, they do not look as gaudy as i'd feared they might. 
4. they are really comfortable to play. 

i will doubtless have more thoughts on these in the future